Social Media Response to the US Government Shutdown
Last week, for the first time in 17 years, the US Government
shut down as politicians failed to agree over a spending bill. The subsequent
shutdown resulted in 800,000 federal workers being sent home without pay,
potentially costing the economy $1 billion a week. Understandably this has
caused a significant backlash on social media sites which have targeted the US
government and their inability to come to a conclusion over the bill.
The stand-off follows the Republicans refusing to approve a
budget, saying that they would only approve it if the funding for President
Barack Obama’s healthcare reforms, nicknamed ‘Obamacare’, was delayed. Since
President Obama was elected, the two parties have never come to a solid
resolution on a US budget that lasts for more than a few months, and the
Republicans have begun to use the budget deadlines as a way to gain political
leverage over policies which are particularly controversial.
The public has been very responsive to the government
shutdown on social media platforms, particularly Twitter, Facebook and
Instagram, expressing their complaints at how those who have government jobs have been sent home without pay. This provides a great contrast to the last US government shutdown in
1995, 17 years ago. The options that were available to express one’s opinions
to the government were much more limited, letters or emails could be sent, or
protests arranged but the advent of the modern age of technology allows people
a greater ability to interact and express their opinions to the government in a
much easier and more instantaneous manner. Twitter has been a particularly popular
platform for this form of discussion with popular hashtags like
#governmentshutdown and #DearCongress allowing voters to complain to all the
532 members of Congress at once.
Twitter has also provided a popular platform for the public
to ridicule the government and make fun of their inability to come to a
conclusion over the budget as well as to express their complaints. Hashtags
like #ShutdownPickupLines and #TeaPartyShutdown have proved popular among the
public, along with the creation of photo gifs and other posts to demonstrate
thoughts and opinions on the government shutdown which generally represent it
in a bad light. For instance, the photo gif below mocking the US government
shutdown and how the Yosemite’s 123rd birthday was ruined by the
closure of the US national parks and monuments during the shutdown.
However, it is not only the public who have been using
social media to discuss the US Government shutdown. Both the Republicans and
the Democrats have used Twitter to express their viewpoints and opinions on the
matter. For instance, the Republican Scott DesJarlais showed his anger at the
prospect of Obama’s healthcare reforms by tweeting: “Looks like Senate Majority
Leader Harry Reid decided to shut down the government over a law that over 60%
of Americans oppose”. Whereas President Barack Obama is using his Twitter page as a way to drum up popular
support for his party policies tweeting “ ‘Nobody gets to hurt our economy and
hard-working families over a law you don’t like’. – President Obama
#EnoughAlready ”
However, a number of US government websites and Twitter
feeds have been suspended due to the government shutdown, meaning that updates
and replies from these organisations will not be seen during this period. US citizens can normally use federal websites and Twitter feeds to send queries to government institutions, however dozens of Twitter feeds, such as those for National Parks and the Statue of Liberty, have been stopped during the shutdown. This
shows that not even social media continues to function at all times during the
government shutdown and there are limitations in its use to convey a message to
the public or its use as a communication tool.
What do you think?
Do you think Twitter and other social media platforms are an
effective way of expressing one’s opinions about the US government shutdown?
Social Media Response to the US Government Shutdown
Reviewed by Anonymous
on
Monday, October 07, 2013
Rating:
Reviewed by Anonymous
on
Monday, October 07, 2013
Rating:
Anonymous
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